Marked For Death
by Bailey-HP
Summary: Draco has joined the side of good and goes on a mission for Dumbledore, but not everything goes according to plan. What will happen when he is asked to harm the one he cares for most?
1. Burning Fate

**A/N: This chapter really sucks, I'm not gonna lie. The next chapter will be much better I promise.**

Draco slowly walked toward his fate. The fate he was so unwilling to take, but was forced into nonetheless. He hated his father for what he was making him do, for the choices he was forcing him to make.

Draco had once looked up to his father, hoping to one day follow in his footsteps, but now, as he was about to make the final commitment to go down the very same path his father had taken, he realized he didn't want it, any of it.

He had been brought up learning that wealth, power, and the pureness of your blood were all that mattered, all that was needed to become a great wizard, but this thought process was wrong, very wrong indeed. And he had realized this when he had talked to someone whom he would never be caught talking to:

Hermione Granger.

Yes, Hermione Granger, that know-it-all with the Muggle parents, whom he had loathed and detested. But why? She had never done any wrong to him. But because of the way Draco Malfoy had been raised, he was taught to hate anyone of Muggle decent.

So when they were forced to work together in their Ancient Runes class, they of course both begged for different partners, but nothing could be changed:

At first, Draco never said anything to Hermione, and she never said anything to him, and he liked it that way. But then one day, curiosity won Hermione over.

"_Why do you hate me so much?" she asked._

"_Because you're a Mudblood." Draco automatically replied. Out of the corner of his eye, Draco could see Hermione wince at the word, but her voice did not falter when she said, "Just because I'm Muggle-born does not give you the right to hate me."_

_Draco looked up from deciphering runes and looked up at her. "You have no right to tell me what I do and do not have the right to do! If anyone has that right, it is me, as I am a Pureblood and you are just a mere Mudblood."_

"_It doesn't matter." Hermione said softly, not looking up from her work._

_Draco snorted. "What do you mean 'it doesn't matter'? Of course it matters! That's what makes a good witch or wizard!"_

_Hermione looked up and faced him. "No, it doesn't, Malfoy. What makes a good witch or wizard depends upon their skill, whether they be Pureblood, Halfblood, or Muggle-born. It also depends upon the way they treat others."_

_Draco was a little taken aback by the fact that Hermione had stood up to him, no one had ever done so in the past, and the fact that her words had made some sense. "What do you thing of me?" he asked quietly, "Am I a good wizard?"_

_She seemed to hear the sincerity in his voice and replied, "Well to be honest – now, don't get mad at me – but no, I don't think you are a good wizard, and I will tell you why." But just as she was about to explain, the bell signaling that class was over rang loudly._

_Hermione swore under her breath, which surprised Draco. "Look," she said as she gathered up her things, "if you still want to know what I think, meet me in the empty Charms classroom on the second floor during lunch, okay?" She looked up at him for an answer._

"_Yeah, okay." Draco said, without thinking about whom he was just now planning to meet with later._

_All throughout his next classes he couldn't help but wonder why Hermione thought of him as a bad wizard._

Maybe she thinks I don't have the skills_ he thought, then angrily added, _How dare she insult me that way!

But yet, he still met her in the abandoned Charms classroom at lunch. She was sitting there waiting for him. She looked up when she heard him enter, and gestured for him to sit down in the chair in front of her.

_He hesitated, not wanting to look like he was taking orders from her, but he did finally sit._

"_So, I don't believe you to be a good wizard, and I'll tell you why." Hermione resumed the conversation as if they had been talking about it seconds ago. "Now, I don't want you to think that _I_ think you have no skill, because I don't. I think you have remarkable skills, but that's not why I think you're a bad wizard."_

"_Then why?" Draco asked, feeling like he was missing a major piece to the puzzle. "Why am I a bad wizard if I've got the skill?"_

"_Well, it's like I said isn't it? It's not only skill that makes a good wizard, it's the way he treats others, and to be honest Malfoy –"_

"_Call me Draco." He automatically said, shocking himself._

"_Oh, o-okay." said Hermione, slightly startled, "To be perfectly honest – erm – Draco, you don't treat others very nicely." _

_Draco stood up, almost knocking over the chair he recently vacated. "But why should I?" he answered her, "I'm better than them!"_

_It was now Hermione's turn to stand. "No you're not Draco! Not when you say things like that! Haven't your parents ever told you to treat people the way you'd want to be treated?"_

_Draco calmed down slightly. "No," he said, "all they ever told me was that Purebloods are the only respectable wizards and that Halfbloods and Mudbloods are all scum."_

_Hermione took a deep breath. "Well," she said, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but they told you wrong."_

"_All these years I've been thinking wrongly." Draco slowly sat back down. "How could I have been so stupid?" he asked, dropping his head onto the desk in front of him with a great _thud.

_This was not the reaction that Hermione was expecting. She expected Draco to yell and tell her that _she_ was the one who was wrong, but that reaction never came. "Draco," she breathed, reaching across the desk to rest a hand on one of his. He looked up at her, his face shining with tears. "Oh Draco, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault, you were brought up to believe things that weren't true, how were you to know it was wrong?"_

_Her hand was still resting upon his, and it strangely made him feel better_, comforted_. He smiled through his tears. "Yeah, I guess you're right."_

"_Of course I am." She joked, "Have I ever been wrong?"_

_Draco laughed. "No. Never."_

"Ah, Draco Malfoy." The Dark Lord's voice brought Draco crashing back to reality. "Lucius tells me that you have exceptional skill and that you would be an excellent addition to our ranks. But, I cannot fully take his word for it, for he _is_ your father, so he would most certainly speak well of you. So tell me, are you all that he says you are?" His eyes were so piercing, Draco repressed a shudder.

He didn't want to answer, but he knew he must carry on with the task Dumbledore had set for him, or else he could put many lives in danger, he could put _Hermione's_ life in danger:

The bell after Ancient Runes had rung again when Hermione passed Draco the note.

Meet me in the empty Charms room a lunch. You know where.

Draco could feel his lips curve up into a smile. It had been a few weeks since he and Hermione had first talked, and they seemed to be getting along just fine. More than fine in fact. They were always stealing glances at each other and talking and laughing with each other.

_Draco was most certainly falling for her, but he would never admit it. How could he? He could _never_ tell his father. Just thinking about what he would say made Draco shudder._

_His classes before lunch seemed to drag on forever, but finally they had passed. Draco raced to the vacant Charms room as fast as he could, he wanted as much time with Hermione that he could get. He was out of breath by the time he got there, clutching the stitch in his aching side._

_He looked up to find Hermione already there, staring at him, eyebrows raised. "In a rush are we?" she asked._

_Draco gaped at her. "How…did you get here…so fast?" he asked while gasping for air. He couldn't wrap his brain around the fact that she had gotten there before him, without breaking a sweat, while he, panting like a dog, had run as fast as his legs could carry him to get there._

_Hermione shrugged, "My Transfiguration class is right down the corridor." She then crossed her arms. "So, why in such a hurry?"_

"_Well, you wanted to see me. You _did_ want to see me, right?" Draco was starting to think that he maybe shouldn't have come._

"_Yes, but I didn't realize that you'd be so eager to see _me_." Hermione replied, looking down at her feet, to embarrassed to look at him._

_Draco stared at her in disbelief. "Of course I'm eager to see you!" he replied, "You're all I ever think about!" He could feel his face getting hot as his cheeks turned red. He had probably said too much._

_Hermione was turning a shade of pink as well. "Really?" she asked. "Am I really all you think about?"_

_Draco realized it was too late to deny it, and, interestingly enough, he didn't want to. "Yeah, yeah you are." At these words, he looked down at his feet, as if he had never seen anything like them before._

"_Oh Draco," Hermione then said. Draco looked up at her. "Draco, you're all _I_ ever think about! That's why I wanted you to come here, so I could tell you!"_

"_Oh Hermione." Draco breathed. Hermione gasped, it had been the first time he had ever called her by her first name._

"_Oh Draco." She ran to him and flung her arms around his neck. He took her and held her in a tight embrace, stroking her brown hair._

"_Hermione listen." Draco pulled her away so he could look into her face. "We're going to have to keep this a secret, at least for a little while. My dad would kill me if he ever found out." He searched her face for her answer._

"_Okay," she agreed, while nodding her head, "Yeah, okay. I'd do anything for you." She looked so vulnerable, so innocent right then; Draco never wanted to let her go. "As would I," he replied._

"Well Draco? I'm waiting. Are you or are you not all that your father says?" Once again the piercing voice of the Dark Lord brought Draco out of his thoughts.

He looked up into the snakelike face. "I am, My Lord." He answered. Draco hated himself for doing what he was doing, but he knew he had to, to save the lives of others.

"Not very modest, are we?" A smile played around Voldemort's lips.

"Modesty gets in the way of regaining power My Lord." Draco replied, not believing a single word of what he was saying.

"Excellent, excellent." The Dark Lord was definitely smiling now. "Talented _and_ brilliant you are, Draco. Yes, you will be a superb addition to the Death Eaters. What do you say Draco, would you like to join us? Not that you really have a choice."

"I would be honored My Lord." Draco felt like he could throw up, he didn't like this plan at all, but he knew he must go through with it. Besides, it was Dumbledore's plan after all, surely he knew what he was doing?

"Perfect. Hold out your left arm Draco." Draco stared at the man before him. There was no way he was getting the Dark Mark tattooed permanently to his arm, he would never allow it.

"My Lord…I…I," Draco stammered.

"Draco!" the Dark Lord cut across him, "Don't tell me you're backing out now, just because of one little marking on your arm."

"Of course not, My Lord." Draco didn't know how he was going to get out of this one, he thought for sure he would be killed. "I just thought that—"

"Are you second-guessing my methods Draco?" the Dark Lord once again cut across Draco.

"No, no, My Lord! So sorry, My Lord, my mistake." Draco dropped to his knees in front of Voldemort, praying that he would make it out of this alive.

Voldemort took this as Draco worshiping him, and smiled. "Get up Draco, you are forgiven. Don't expect to get off this easily next time."

Draco exhaled with relief and got to his feet. "Thank you My Lord."

"Yes, well, back to buisness." Voldemort dismissed Draco's thanks with a wave of his pale hand. "Now Draco, if you please, hold out your left arm."

Just then, Draco realized that he had to do it, he had to get the Dark Mark. Dumbledore had sent him out on this mission, so he had to do whatever it took to complete it; plus, Draco had promised Hermione that he would do anything for her. This wasn't really what he had in mind, and she didn't know he was doing this, but if becoming a Death Eater in order to spy on Voldemort was what he had to do to keep her safe, he was willing to do it.

His mind was made up, and he slowly lifted his left arm out in front of him. Voldemort took it and put the tip of his wand onto Draco's bare skin and murmured some sort of incantation.

The skin on Draco's left arm burned white-hot. Draco did all he could to keep himself from crying out. He looked down at his arm. Voldemort's wand was still pressed against it, but where there had once been bare skin there was now a skull and snake, burning red.

When Voldemort pulled his wand away from Draco's arm, the burning subsided and the Dark Mark faded from red to black. Draco, who had been staring at his arm, looked up at the Dark Lord. He was smiling. "Welcome Draco," he said, "to the Death Eaters."

"Thank you My Lord." Draco replied, though he was not thankful at all. He hated that he was officially a Death Eater. The thought made him sick to his stomach.

"Now, there is something I want you to do for me Draco." Voldemort said.

Draco's attention immediately was brought back to the Dark Lord. This was his mission after all: to find out what Voldemort was planning. "Yes My Lord?" he asked eagerly.

The Dark Lord smiled, hearing the eagerness in his newest recruit's voice. "I want you to round up all the Mudbloods at Hogwarts and kill them, if you can. If there are some that you can't kill, I want you to bring them back here, to me, so I can kill them. That filth does not belong in our world. But listen carefully Draco, I want a certain Mudblood in particular for you to kill: that friend of Harry Potter's; Granger. With her dead, Harry Potter will come after me, and I will kill him."

Draco's heart sank. Kill Hermione? Kill the girl he loved? He would rather die than murder the love of his life, but he knew he had to tell Voldemort that he would. "Of course My Lord, I will get right on that." Draco said, struggling to hold back tears.

**A/N: Please review so I can improve!**


	2. The Plan

**A/N: So this is chapter two, and like I promised, it is better than chapter one (in my opinion). It is a little shorter than chapter one though.**

Draco spun on the spot. He could feel the tight claustrophobic feeling that came along with Apperation, but he did not notice it. He was too busy replaying what had just happened, trying to convince himself, without success, that it was just a nightmare.

As soon as his feet hit the soft earth just outside the Three Broomsticks, he started running. He ran so fast that his surroundings were a blur, but he didn't care, he just kept running toward the Hogwarts grounds. Draco reached the gate and pushed. It was unlocked, just as Dumbledore said it would be.

Dumbledore.

Draco had never felt so much hatred for the man until this night. It was Dumbledore's fault for making him go on this terrible mission. It was Dumbledore's fault that Draco was now a Death Eater and that he had to kill the one person who meant the most to him.

"Licorice Wands!" Draco bellowed as he reached the stone gargoyle that hid the entrance to the headmaster's office. He climbed the spiraling staircase two steps at a time in his haste, and didn't even bother to knock on the door to Dumbledore's office.

The headmaster looked up to see Draco rolling up his sleeve. "Ah, Draco, you're back." He said. "How did it go?"

"How did it go?" Draco was furious. "If you want to know how it went just see for yourself!" He shoved his left arm in Dumbledore's direction.

Dumbledore's eyes rested upon the new Dark Mark on Draco's arm. This was not something that he had anticipated, though he now realized he should have. Draco was a good wizard, and his parents must have put in a good word for him, so why _wouldn't_ Voldemort take him in? "This is a problem," he said eventually.

Draco stared at the headmaster with wide eyes. "You think? This isn't what I signed up for, Dumbledore." He started pacing across the office. "It was bad enough to become a Death Eater, but then to have to kill Hermione, I—"

"Wait. Voldemort wants you to kill Hermione Granger?" The situation was getting more and more out of hand.

"Yes. And that's not all. He wants me to kill all the Muggle-borns in the school. I can't do that, Dumbledore, I'm not a killer. And Hermione, I just, I could never, I…I love her." Draco looked up at the headmaster, tears in his eyes. His anger had faded at the thought of Hermione.

Dumbledore looked at Draco through his half-moon spectacles and gave a sad smile. "Yes, I have seen that you and Miss Granger have developed quite a bond. Tell me Draco, would you be willing to take Miss Granger into hiding? As you can clearly see both you and she are in terrible danger if you stay here at Hogwarts."

"I'd do anything to keep her safe. I'd take her anywhere." Draco breathed, "Tell me Professor, what do I have to do?"

~*~

Hermione was awoken in the middle of the night by Professor McGonagall. At first she thought it quite rude, but then she saw the urgency in the professor's eyes.

"Professor, what's going on?" Hermione asked in a worried voice, she didn't like the look McGonagall was giving her.

"You have to leave Hogwarts dear. No, no, leave your things, there's no time. Perhaps we can send them to you when it's safer." McGonagall said to her as she was pushing her out the door of the girls' dormitories.

"Safer? Professor, please tell me what's going on!" Hermione pleaded with the head of Gryffindor house. "Why do I have to leave Hogwarts?"

"Miss Granger, everything will be explained, just please follow me to Professor Dumbledore's office. He will explain everything to you. I'm so sorry that this is the action we must make." She truly did look sorry.

She followed McGonagall down the empty corridors, thinking all the while the things that she would miss about the marvelous castle. She thought about all the people she would miss: Harry…Ron…Ginny… Draco. _Draco_. No, she couldn't go, she couldn't leave him behind.

Silent tears started to fall from her eyes. As much as she would want to stay here with him, she knew that wasn't a possibility. Whatever she was leaving Hogwarts for, was for the better of the wizarding world, and possibly for the Muggle world too.

"Licorice Wands!" she heard McGonagall say, and followed up the great spiraling staircase. McGonagall raised her fist and gave two quick rasps on the door.

"Come in." came Dumbledore's calm muffled voice from the other side of the door. McGonagall and Hermione entered the headmaster's office.

"I have brought Miss Granger, just as you have asked, Albus." McGonagall said. Hermione still had not looked up.

"Hermione," someone whispered. At the sound of her name, Hermione looked up, and there he was, the one she couldn't live without.

"Draco!" she exclaimed and ran across the office to him, wrapping her arms around him. He took her in his arms and kissed her desperately. "Draco, what's going on?" she asked once they broke apart.

"Miss Granger, why don't you sit down, and all this will be explained." Dumbledore smiled at her warmly. "Thank you Minerva."

Understanding that she was not wanted anymore, McGonagall left the room without a sound. Dumbledore watched after her, making sure she shut the door behind her. Once he felt that she was out of earshot he spoke. "Miss Granger, something has happened that you need to be aware of." He looked tired and weary. He looked nothing like the Dumbledore she was used to. It scared her.

Realizing that Hermione was uncomfortable, Draco sat down in the chair next to her and took her hand in his. This seemed to help her calm down a bit.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore went on, "were you aware that Mr. Malfoy here was on a mission for me?"

Hermione looked at Draco. He gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "No." she turned back to Dumbledore. "No, I had no idea."

"Well, he was. His mission was to find out what Voldemort is planning. He had to get this information from," he hesitated, "from Voldemort himself."

Hermione stood up in anger. "What! He could have been killed! What were you thinking Dumbledore?"

"Hermione, sit down love. It's okay. I'm alive aren't I?" Draco gave her a smile, trying to get her to calm down.

"Miss Granger, you are absolutely right, I was not thinking when I gave Mr. Malfoy this mission. And I'm sorry to say that things have gone terribly wrong." Dumbledore looked down at his wrinkled hands.

"Gone wrong how?" Hermione asked, as she slowly sat back down.

"Dumbledore didn't take into consideration that Voldemort might actually like me." Draco answered.

Hermione looked at him with confused eyes. "What does that mean?"

"He wanted me to join him, Hermione." Draco replied, staring straight into her brown eyes.

Realization hit Hermione so hard she literally almost fell over. "You didn't." she breathed, "please tell me you didn't. Draco please." Tears were filling her eyes.

Draco felt the tears falling down his own cheeks. "I didn't have a choice Hermione. Believe me, I didn't want to, but I had no choice." He tried to reach for her hand, but she pulled away.

"No. No, no, no." She shook her head from side to side, tears streaming down her face, "No, I won't believe it."

He rolled the sleeve of his robes up to show her the only thing that would make her believe, the thing that would make her understand.

She gasped as she saw the skull and snake branded onto her love's arm, and she sobbed violently. Draco pulled her into a tight embrace and wouldn't let her go, no matter how much she tried to break loose.

Dumbledore, who had sat there quietly during their heart to heart, cleared his throat. Both had forgotten that he was there, and looked up at him in surprise. "I'm sorry to interrupt," he said, "but there are still other matters to discuss. Draco, I'm sure you know to what I'm referring."

Draco nodded, and turned back to Hermione, who looked at him with expectant eyes. "Hermione, we have to leave Hogwarts. It's not safe here for us anymore.

"See, when I had to become a Death Eater," both cringed at the thought, " he gave me a job to do. He told me that I had to kill all the Muggle-borns at Hogwarts. But the one he wanted dead the most was … you."

"What?" Hermione asked in a barely audible whisper. "You have to … kill me?"

Draco looked at her with sad eyes. "That's what he wants me to do. But I could never do that to you Hermione, I could never kill you. Ever.

"That's why we can't stay here. It won't take long for Voldemort to find out that I've betrayed him. He'll come looking for us here, and he'll kill us. He'd kill me because I was disloyal, and he'd kill you to get to Harry."

Hermione tried to stop her tears, but she couldn't help but let them fall. As much as she hated having to leave Hogwarts and all her friends, not knowing if she would ever see them again, she knew that she must. If she didn't, she would be putting her fellow classmates in harm's way. She looked up at Draco with intensity. "So, when do we leave?"

~*~

Hermione wasn't given much time to pack, she and Draco were instructed to leave as soon as possible. She quickly grabbed her necessities, such as an extra robe, her wand, and some books she figured might come in useful. She stuffed them all inside her bag, and made her way to the parchment and quill that were awaiting her on a small desk in the corner of the room. She had to say goodbye to Harry and Ron somehow.

She sat down at the desk and picked up her quill with a shaky hand and began to write:

_Dear Harry and Ron,_

_If you're reading this, you know that I've gone. You're probably wondering where I am and why I left. As much as I'd like to tell you where I've gone, I can't. I left because it wasn't safe here for me anymore. I wish I could tell you why, but Dumbledore has told me not to tell you anything. Just know that I'm okay and please don't try to come and find me, it's not safe for you to do so. Please know that none of this is you're fault, and that I left because that is what is best for me. I'll miss you both, and hopefully we will see each other again very soon._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

**A/N: Please review!**


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